The Dark Beyond the Stars : A Novel (28 page)

He had reinforced my premonition. Heron’s trial wasn’t going to be just about Heron. It was going to be about loyalty and faith, and eventually it would involve many more crew members in addition to Heron. If we had been on Earth, a good fraction of the crew would have fled the next time period.

“Sparrow—why would Heron want to kill you?”

It was no trick question but it was one I could not answer. Not in open court. And not when the Captain asked it. I finally said, “I don’t know.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“A man is filled with so much hatred for you that he’s moved to murder and you have no idea why?”

The question hung there and I could do nothing but shrug. I had no answer. He waited until the silence became smothering,then dismissed me.

****

The Captain’s interrogation of Ophelia and Tybalt began relatively routinely. Ophelia was crisp and respectful and I thought I even detected respect on the Captain’s part. He scribbled another note on the slate and without looking up asked:

“Why did you detach Sparrow to explore on his own?”

Ophelia’s prompt responses suddenly slowed.

“We had limited time and I wanted to use the team efficiently and cover as much ground as possible.”

The Captain leaned back, tapped his teeth with his stylus, and looked thoughtful.

“You didn’t think it was risky sending a crewman into unknown territory by himself?”

“I didn’t consider it dangerous. He knew thegeology, he could see what the terrain was like. And we were in constant communication—” She stopped, realizing she had made a mistake.

“But you weren’t, of course. To investigate the gorge meant that Sparrow would be out of touch with you for minutes.”

I never thought I would see Ophelia sweat but she was sweating now.

“I didn’t realize that at the time.”

The Captain smiled slightly. “You didn’t foresee that he would be so eager to fulfill one command that he might violate another.”

“No, sir.”

“And you didn’t foresee any danger from native life forms, whatever they might have been?”

She knew it was a trap but her pride led her in without hesitation.

“If there were any, it wouldn’t have made any difference,” she said flatly. “None of us were armed.”

The Captain already knew that; he was making another point. But the points he was making weren’t for the witnesses or the accused, they were forhimself . He was building a case for whatever action he was going to take later.

“In retrospect,” he said slowly, “I think that was a mistake. I’m sure Sparrow thinks so, too.” He studied his slate. “You didn’t believe in the possibility of life on Aquinas even before we landed, did you, Ophelia?”

She was white-faced, her voice hoarse.

“No, sir, I didn’t.”

He studied her, obviously weighing her and finding her wanting.

“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, Ophelia. But nobody’s entitled to act on it if it endangers this ship and its crew. You’ve violated standard exploration procedures and shown a lack of common sense. You’re relieved of your command.”

There was a gasp from the assembled crew members.

In the front, at the Captain’s right, Heron smirked at all of us.

The Captain called a recess and we filed out to report to our working spaces if we were on shift or to try and get some sleep if we weren’t. It was mealtime in Exploration and we ate in silence while Pipit just as silently served us.

It was Thrush who stated the obvious. “It’s not going well, is it?”

And it was little Quince who growled, “Shut up, Thrush.”

Thrush started to object, caught the looks on our faces, then shrugged and took up his usual position in the corner. Nobody said anything to Ophelia, though one or two patted her gently on the back. Then Tybalt drifted over and they talked in low voices, his arm around her shoulder. When the meal was finished, the normal hum of conversation started again, though I heard no talk about the trial. Noah pulled out the chessboard, nodded at me, and I joined him for a game. He played badly and I scored an easy win.

“Another one?”I asked.

He shook his head.

“Not this time, Sparrow.”

I lowered my voice so only he could hear.

“Ophelia’s too valuable as a team leader,” I reassured him. “The Captain will reinstate her next time.”

“You still believe in Kusaka , don’t you, Sparrow?” he asked bleakly.

“I suppose so,” I admitted. “I’ve had more contact with him than you’ve had—at least lately.” I had my reservations about the mission, but I had yet to lose my faith in the Captain. He laughed without humor.

“Poor Sparrow,” he murmured.“To have lived so long and still be so innocent.”

****

Tybaltwas next and the Captain seemed genuinely glad to have him as a witness. But then, Tybalt was a true believer; whatever points the Captain wanted to make, Tybalt would be glad to help. He gave a detailed version of everything his team did after the landing while the Captain nodded patiently.

“But you detached Heron to explore the top of the rim byhimself . Didn’t you think that dangerous?”

“He was armed,” Tybalt said, full of self-righteousness. “I saw to it that everybody on my team was armed.”

“With pellet guns,” the Captain agreed. “Not exactly heavy artillery on a planet we knew nothing about.”

Tybaltlooked confused.

“It was an exploration party, not an invasion,” he said slowly.

“I wasn’t questioning the armament, just the wisdom of sending a man off by himself.”

A tinge of surliness crept into Tybalt’s voice.

“It was his idea. I thought it a good one. So did other members of the team. We were pressed for time; we wanted to cover as much territory as we could while we were there.”

The Captain fell silent, absorbed in his slate.

“I think I see,” he said at last. “Heron volunteered to explore the rim and you detached him for that purpose.” He glanced up at Tybalt , curious. “You said other members of the team thought it was a good idea. Who were they?”

Tybaltlooked unhappy.

“Thrush, for one.”

I snapped alert. I didn’t know how the pieces fit together, but now it was obvious that Thrush had known Heron’s intentions.Of course. Thrush always knew what Heron intended.

“Perhaps Thrush should have been the team leader,” the Captain said wryly. Then: “Did you think the possibilities of alien life forms on Aquinas were very good?”

Just as Ophelia had, Tybalt was sweating heavily.

“Yes, sir.”

“But you still let Heron go off alone.”

Tybalt’svoice was now thick with frustration as he tried to explain something he thought the Captain couldn’t or wouldn’t understand.

“I considered him a scout. An exploration party can’t explore if they stay together. Tactically, it would have been just as dangerous if we’d split up. Heron volunteered to be a scout and I detached him as a scout.”

“You’re absolutely right,” the Captain said sarcastically. “Detaching him as a scout was a good idea. Detaching him so he would be free to murder a fellow crew member was a very bad one.”

Even from where I sat, I could see Tybalt start to tremble.

“I didn’t know what he was going to do.”

“Did you know how he was equipped?”

“Standard equipment—plus a pellet gun.We all had one.”

The Captain shook his head.

“Did you know he had an RF detector as well as a gun? He could determine the location of crew members on the other team. He could tell who they were by the numbers on their suits. And he could see them more easily from above than they could see him from below.”

From the moment we had set down on Aquinas II, Tybalt had conducted his part of the landing as if it were a military operation. Thrush and Heron had known he would and had played on that. Sending out a scout would have had a lot of appeal to Tybalt . So Heron had been granted permission to go hunting and the game he had tracked was me.

“Did you know Heron and Sparrow were enemies?”

Tybaltglanced at Heron with contempt.

“Yes. But then Heron has no friends.”

“Why?”

An uncomfortable shrug.“I suppose because he doesn’t like anybody and as a result, nobody likes him.”

The Captain looked annoyed.

“That’s an inadequate answer. Everybody has at least one friend. Who was Heron’s?”

Without any hesitation: “Thrush was the only one in the division who could tolerate him.”

“Do you have any idea why Heron would want to kill Sparrow?”

It was a crucial question but Tybalt fumbled the answer. “They didn’t like each other. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

The Captain sighed.

“You’ve been team leader for both Heron and Sparrow but you have no real idea why Heron has so few friends or why he and Sparrow were enemies. You should know the people in your command better than that.” He tapped the slate. “You’re excused, Tybalt .For now.”

It was unfair. Nobody on board, with the exception of the Captain, had made more than half a dozen landings. Landings were too infrequent to breed proficiency, to teach the details of command. Tybalt was the best we had, a man who worked hard and who believed in the mission and worshiped the Captain.At least until now. For reasons I didn’t understand, the Captain had humiliated him before the crew, questioning his decisions and his professionalism. Once again I felt uneasy. The next witness would probably be Thrush, Heron’s one and only friend and a man for whom Heron would do anything.

I was curious to see what Thrush would do for Heron.

****

The Captain called another recess and I returned to my shift in Exploration. It was strangely silent except for the whisper of machinery and the occasional murmur of a command. The crew spoke to each other in monosyllables, and when Tybalt entered they stopped talking altogether. Tybaltlooked smaller and older than he had a few hours before. Strain had etched deep furrows in his forehead. He said nothing to anybody and showed no interest in what we were doing. He nodded briefly and disappeared into the headquarters compartment. I waited a moment,then followed him in.

“There’s nothing I want to talk about,” he said in a low voice.

“I wasn’t going to talk.” I felt around in my waistcloth and pulled out a small pipe.“Smoke?”

He lit it and inhaled for a long moment, then let the smoke drift out so it made a haze around his face. I flicked on the exhaust fan, looped an arm through a bulkhead ring, and waited.

“I don’t know what he wants,” Tybalt finally said, “but I don’t think Heron has much to do with it.”

“He should have known the answers to most of the questions he asked.”

The smoke was doing its work and Tybalt looked more relaxed, the lines in his face softer.

“You’re assuming something, Sparrow.”

It was my turn with the pipe and I said, “What?” in a strangled voice.

“That he cares enough to actually want to know us.”

It was one thing to hear it from Ophelia orNoah, it was another to hear Tybalt say it.

“I think he does,” I protested.

He shook his head.

“He’s seen a hundred generations of us come and go. We live too short a life. I’m surprised he even knows our names.”

It was Tybalt’s depression talking, I thought, not Tybalt . But I never forgot what he said and eventually it provided an answer when I had none of my own.

Everybody who could break away from their shifts was present when Thrush’s turn came to testify. I was watching Heron when Thrush was called and was startled by his change of expression. The dull look of hatred was replaced by a combination of hero-worship, hope, and obsession. Heron had faith—he truly believed that Thrush’s testimony would somehow make everything all right. This time the Captain seemed more abrupt and on edge. I wondered if it was because he had thought ahead to the trial’s consequences. At the end of it, he would have to pass judgment and I imagined he would find that difficult.

“It was Heron’s idea that he be detached as a scout?”

Thrush was respectful but casual.

“Yes, sir, it was.”

The Captain looked doubtful.

“It didn’t happen to be your idea, did it?”

Thrush hesitated. I knew he was debating whether it was safe to take the credit.

“It was Heron who asked, sir. I thought it was a good idea and said so.”

“Then you didn’t think it was dangerous for Heron to go on alone?”

“I thought it was very brave of him. I also thought he could handle himself.”

There was a flash of gratitude on Heron’s face. But it wasn’t an answer to the question and the Captain was irritated.

“I asked if you thought it was dangerous.”The impatience in his voice made Thrush flinch.

“I did think it was dangerous, yes, sir. We didn’t know what the native life forms might be like.”

“Obviously Heron didn’t think they’d be so dangerous. He wasn’t interested in them, he was interested in Sparrow.”

“I didn’t know he was going to look for Sparrow,” Thrush murmured.

The Captain suddenly changed the subject.

“I understand Heron is very good with a pellet gun.”

“He should be, sir, he practices all the time.”

My eyebrows shot up. An ordinary crewman who practiced all the time was to be commended. A would-be murderer who practiced all the time was to be feared.

“Your opinion, Thrush: Firing from the rim of the gorge, if Heron had wanted to hit Sparrow, he could have. Am I right?”

Thrush didn’t hesitate.“Yes, sir.”

“Even in those conditions of driving snow and poor visibility?”

“If he could see Sparrow at all, sir, he could have hit him.”

The Captain stared at Thrush, thoughtful.

“So he was either trying to frighten Sparrow or Sparrow is right in his contention that Heron was trying to hit the rim above, to bury him in a landslide. What do you think?”

Thrush might have helped Heron make the case that he had tried to frighten me rather than kill me, but he didn’t even try.

“I don’t know, sir.”

Heron looked puzzled. Thrush was damning him with faint praise, and he realized it but didn’t understand why.

“You’re the defendant’s best friend, am I correct?”